Remembering Austin Landau, the man behind Jobu Lives on Twitter

"He" is Austin Landau, whom many Tribe fans just knew by his Twitter handle.

Landau passed away over the weekend. His cousin tweeted Saturday night that Landau had a major stroke, then delivered the sad news a couple hours later.

I never met Landau in person, but I interviewed him for a story I wrote for The News-Herald in 2011. At the time, Landau's Twitter account was starting to gain some attention because of its "Major League" references.

That led to a meeting with former Tribe president Mark Shapiro in Heritage Park on May 21, 2011.

"I took my sister and younger cousins to the game, and we were looking at the Lofton plaque in center field," Landau said of a Saturday matchup against the Reds. "I turned around and saw Mark Shapiro with his wife and kids. I just said, 'Mr. Shapiro,' and he turned around and said hi. I told him I was Jobu Lives from Twitter, and he said 'Are you kidding me? Let me see your shirt. Is there any bat magic?' I asked him for a picture, and he shook hands with my sister and cousins and thanked us for coming to the game. He said, 'When you're done with the picture, I'll retweet it.' "

Shapiro did, and Landau was clearly thrilled about the chance encounter.

Landau created Jobu Lives after the 2011 Indians lost 4-3 to the Minnesota Twins on April 24. It was the Tribe's third consecutive defeat, but the club was still 13-8 — better than expected coming off 69- and 65-win seasons.

"Everyone was saying how bad they were playing, so I decided to join as Jobu and put out some positive stuff," Landau told me at the time. "They were still off to a better start than anyone anticipated. After I joined, they won seven in a row, and I kept mentioning that and the bat magic. It started catching on. People had some fun with it."

His account accumulated more than 9,000 followers — who in the last few months were treated to pictures of Landau's baby daughter. When I spoke with Landau in 2011, he was a 28-year-old project manager for Conte Remodelers, a company his grandfather started in 1973. Conte, which has offices in Marion (where Landau lived) and Delaware, has him on the front of its website as a project supervisor.

Landau, according to a GoFundMe account set up in his honor, has a fiancée and three children. His fiancée, Crystal Ellinwood, tweeted thanks for the contributions — which quickly exceeded the $5,000 goal — and said Landau was "the most amazing man in the universe."

The heart-breaking news had us scrolling through Landau's timeline, and the second-to-last tweet simply said, "Today we beisbol."

That was on Feb. 25, when the Indians started their Cactus League schedule with a game against the Reds.

It was a meaningless spring exhibition, but Landau was undoubtedly excited.

Maybe the 2017 Indians will give him the biggest of thrills, with an ending fit for a movie.

You can follow me on Twitter for sports information and analysis, and to tell me if you have any stories about Landau, who was very popular with Tribe diehards — especially those who met him at the ballpark.